real success for me (apart from good crowds,good media coverage and England doing well) would be for the penny to drop in Australia that international RL could be fantastic for the health of the sport and for them to give it some serious backing. That and sort out the ridiculous State of Origin qualification criteria. On top of those Aussie bludgers, and related to it all, the positive development of the international game in the likes of Fiji,Samoa & Tonga would also be a great shot in the arm for the sport.
Think I've covered all my wish list there!

It'll be a success if Australia don't, a week before the tournament, decide they're all an ickle bit tired and decide they don't want to turn up.

That's England's best chance of winning.!!!!

Seriously though, the Aussies have been to every one and won most of them. They successfully hosted the last one after the one before ( 2000 in the UK ) had been a disaster. They might treat International RL as not as important as state of origin but they always show up on the day.

real success for me (apart from good crowds,good media coverage and England doing well) would be for the penny to drop in Australia that international RL could be fantastic for the health of the sport and for them to give it some serious backing. That and sort out the ridiculous State of Origin qualification criteria. On top of those Aussie bludgers, and related to it all, the positive development of the international game in the likes of Fiji,Samoa & Tonga would also be a great shot in the arm for the sport.Think I've covered all my wish list there!

I would throw a couple of other matters into the mix:
- we should do all we can to move the press from their default hostility mode to neutral. We won't win over the Establishment for obvious reasons, but it would be great to have our game covered with some respect;
- it is vital that the players enjoy it and feel as if they are part of something special.

The only thing that would bring anything like success would be a competitive England.

I've never made any secret about my unease when it comes to the RLWC. I don't care what anybody says, the 2000WC was one of the lowest points the sport has seen in my lifetime and it wasn't all to do with the weather. The sport put itself out there to be nigh on humiliated on the national stage. I'm far from convinced that we aren't making many of the same mistakes this time and the sad reality is that international RL has a lower profile than it did then. We've just got off the back of a tournament that showed on national TV just how much further England are than the nations vying for 4th place.

The Australian version was a modest success and was enjoyable. However, this was helped by the fact that ex-pats of nations like Fiji, Tonga and Samoa as well as a decent following from England was able to add colour to the event. In England, barring a tiny smattering of Australians and Kiwis, the spectators will almost all be English. There is also the issue of heritage players. The distance of Australia took the focus (in this country) off the make up of the Irish and Scottish squads. It will almost certainly be high on the agenda again, bringing ridicule on the tournament.

I hope it works but a lot depends on the competitiveness of the games and how many people they can get through the gates. If we see a repeat of the 2000WC then I think it will be counterproductive to the progress of the sport.

I would throw a couple of other matters into the mix:- we should do all we can to move the press from their default hostility mode to neutral. We won't win over the Establishment for obvious reasons, but it would be great to have our game covered with some respect;- it is vital that the players enjoy it and feel as if they are part of something special.

I don't understand why the Murdoch newspapers don't give our game more sysmpathetic and larger coverage. After all the man owns Fox Sports and a big chunk of Sky.

We should exploit the BBC sport being in Salford with string of releases and interview opportunites by making teams and officials available. I think the RLWC offices are in fact in Salford so they are probably planning on that.

If we cannot get the national media on board we should try a local approach e.g try some type of mass approach to the South West media involving the Gloucester Old Gold, the Bristol sonics, the Devon league, local schools teams and the World Cup game at Bristol focusing on the growth of RL in their area.

An interest piece on the Fijian connection to Rochdale with a focus on the World Cup game and the Hornets connection to the establishment of a Fijian prescence in the town wih scenes of mills blended with palm fringed beaches to show the huge contrasts involved in this anomaly.

An approach to Welsh media outlets focussing on the Wales Games in the Cup but mentioning the two Welsh CC teams, the success of Welsh schools in the powergen competiton, pieces showing footage of Wales previous successes in the WC mentioning the defeat of Samoa before a full house at Swansea and their gallant semi final performances with interviews with Davies, Devereux, Anthony Sullivan etc.

The Irish media around Limerick should also be targeted with features on RL in Ireland and maybe Brian Carney using his blarney to promote the event.

There are many more scenarios that could be conjured up to appeal to local media interest stories. We should flood the locals in the heartlands with information.

To make the players feel a part of it they should be used in interviews and articles to support these local initiatives

Southampton isn't part of Hampshire, its part of the City of Southampton.

that's splitting hairs somewhat! Just because it's not under the jurisdiction of the county council doesnt mean it's not in Hampshire.Most town's of any size these days are unitary authorities - it doesnt mean that, for example,Blackburn isnt in Lancashire,Derby isnt in Derbyshire,Reading isnt in Berkshire and York isnt in Yorkshire!

The only thing that would bring anything like success would be a competitive England.

I've never made any secret about my unease when it comes to the RLWC. I don't care what anybody says, the 2000WC was one of the lowest points the sport has seen in my lifetime and it wasn't all to do with the weather. The sport put itself out there to be nigh on humiliated on the national stage. I'm far from convinced that we aren't making many of the same mistakes this time and the sad reality is that international RL has a lower profile than it did then. We've just got off the back of a tournament that showed on national TV just how much further England are than the nations vying for 4th place.

The Australian version was a modest success and was enjoyable. However, this was helped by the fact that ex-pats of nations like Fiji, Tonga and Samoa as well as a decent following from England was able to add colour to the event. In England, barring a tiny smattering of Australians and Kiwis, the spectators will almost all be English. There is also the issue of heritage players. The distance of Australia took the focus (in this country) off the make up of the Irish and Scottish squads. It will almost certainly be high on the agenda again, bringing ridicule on the tournament.

I hope it works but a lot depends on the competitiveness of the games and how many people they can get through the gates. If we see a repeat of the 2000WC then I think it will be counterproductive to the progress of the sport.

I share some of your concerns, however the preparation for this WC and the 2000 one are on different planets. It was all hot air and promises then whilst now it is deeds. Like the Cup tour going to Downing St etc....all this sort of thing was promised in 2000 but never seemed to happen. It was all claims about this record sponsorship or something that never turned out that way. I remember following the diary in TRL (print version) and thinking it was going to very great. There's no guarantees that this one will be a huge success of course but it does seem better already.

International profile was about akin to today in reality. I think you're forgetting the venom directed at it way before a ball had even been kicked. This wasn't some era when RL was held in high esteem by the media, they were sticking the boot in.

that's splitting hairs somewhat! Just because it's not under the jurisdiction of the county council doesnt mean it's not in Hampshire.Most town's of any size these days are unitary authorities - it doesnt mean that, for example,Blackburn isnt in Lancashire,Derby isnt in Derbyshire,Reading isnt in Berkshire and York isnt in Yorkshire!

Not splitting hairs, its a fact. Our ceremonial counties mean far less these days as in previous decades.

Southampton isn't part of Hampshire, its part of the City of Southampton.

You are quite correct, politically Southampton and Hampshire are no longer the same, Southampton is a Unitary Authority however the point made was that Rugby League is played nearby wherever you live in the country. I live in Romsey, just outside Southampton (although we prefer to say just outside Winchester as it makes the houses worth more) and have played for the Spitfires as they are only about a ten minute drive from here. That's nearby by any definition.

Profile of the international game before 2000 WC was way lower than now. Jason Robinson had just jacked it in and gone to union, which showed his regard for the World Cup. Can you imagine Sam Tomkins deciding that he can't be bothered with the world cup next year?

This autumn we've just had England, France & Wales live on the BBC on a weekend afternoon for 4 weeks, we've had big articles in the nationals about England players and top personalities from other sports are regularly linked to the game in a positive way.

real success for me (apart from good crowds,good media coverage and England doing well) would be for the penny to drop in Australia that international RL could be fantastic for the health of the sport and for them to give it some serious backing. That and sort out the ridiculous State of Origin qualification criteria. On top of those Aussie bludgers, and related to it all, the positive development of the international game in the likes of Fiji,Samoa & Tonga would also be a great shot in the arm for the sport.Think I've covered all my wish list there!

My wish list is simple.England to win a major tournament.England to play as good as they build themselves up to be.

Australia to get a real contest from England rather than the one they usually get, you know how Oz usually feel.... think of the recent games against Wales and France.

My wish is that Rugby League fans attend in numbers that match the attendances at the Rugby Union Internationals (which is an inferior game.).
And since Wales will not win i will give my full support to England.